Delta to Begin Nonstop Service from Minneapolis to Seoul

2018-06-14

Photo: businessinsider.com

Delta customers will have more access to Seoul, Korea and Asia via new Delta service from its Minneapolis/St. Paul hub to Seoul-Incheon beginning next year in partnership with joint venture partner Korean Air.

Thanks to the joint venture, Delta customers can access over 80 destinations Korean Air serves in Asia and a world-class customer experience at Seoul-Incheon’s new Terminal 2, the home of Delta and Korean Air.

“Delta’s future is global and adding another nonstop flight to the joint venture’s Seoul-Incheon hub with Korean Air expands on our long-term vision,” said Delta’s CEO Ed Bastian. “This will be a great driver of international commerce for the Minneapolis/St. Paul community and the State of Minnesota, as well as benefiting our customers, our employees and our owners.”

Delta will utilize newly refreshed 777-200ER aircraft with all new cabins. As part of Delta’s more than $100 million 777 refurbishment program, these aircraft will be equipped with 28 of our award-winning Delta One suites with a full height door, 18-inch high-resolution entertainment screens, memory foam seats, espresso coffee service and state-of-the-art design with customizable in-suite lighting.

The 220 all-new Main Cabin seats are the widest in the Delta international fleet in a 9-abreast configuration furnished with personal screens, unlimited premium entertainment and complimentary earbuds. The new cabins all enjoy in-seat USB and 110V power ports, inflight WiFi and new dynamic LED lighting that varies by phase of flight fostering a relaxing, refreshing environment onboard.

As of June 1, Delta flights departing Korea feature menus in all cabins curated by Michelin two-star Chef Kwon Woo Joong, who will also consult on menu design with our U.S. kitchens.

The service will be Delta’s second trans-Pacific nonstop flight from its MSP hub, complementing existing service to Tokyo-Haneda, where Delta also intends to deploy the refurbished 777-200ER aircraft in 2019.

Schedule details of this new service will be announced at a later date.

“This is the first direct service between MSP International Airport and South Korea, and we are thrilled Delta Air Lines has decided to provide it,” said Brian Ryks, Executive Director and CEO of the Metropolitan Airports Commission, which owns and operates MSP. “Travelers can connect to dozens of other cities throughout Southeast Asia through Seoul’s Incheon Airport, providing Twin Cities businesses with easy access to customers and clients in critical growing markets.”

With 27 peak-day flights between the U.S. and Asia, the joint venture between Delta and Korean Air offers customers world-class travel benefits across one of the most comprehensive route networks in the trans-Pacific market.

The partners recently expanded codeshare flying and earlier this year received government approval for a trans-Pacific joint venture that will enhance connectivity between the U.S. and Asia giving customers more choice for seamless travel.

Both airlines have also improved their loyalty programs’ reciprocal benefits, including the ability to earn more miles on both loyalty programs and redeem them on the expanded network.

Delta and Korean Air are both located at the new, state-of-the-art Terminal 2 of Seoul’s Incheon International Airport, providing efficient and seamless connections, four world-class lounges and many more amenities, including lounges dedicated to transfer passengers in all cabins with complementary showers and sleep areas.